Jillian Keiley is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

theater director.

Early life and education

Keiley was born in 1970 and raised in Goulds, a community just south of St. John's, in Newfoundland, Canada. She attended St. Kevin's High School and

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, completing the theatre directing program in 1994.

Career

While attending York University, Keiley founded the Splash Cabaret Series in St. John's. After graduating college, she moved back to St. John's. Keiley served as the artistic director of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland for 18 years. For Artistic Fraud, Keiley has directed ''The Cheat'', ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', and ''Burial Practices'', among others. In 2002, Keiley directed ''Tempting Providence'', which toured from 2003–2014. During this period, Keiley was an annual instructor of chorus with the National Theatre School of Canada, and directed theatre and opera productions in Australia, Ireland, and Canada. Keiley became the artistic director of the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

English Theatre in 2012. Keiley left the National Arts Centre in 2022 after 10 seasons. For the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

, she directed '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (2015), and ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' (2016)'','' and ''The Neverending Story'' (2019).

Personal life

Keiley is married to music producer Don Ellis, with whom she has one daughter.

Awards

* Canada Council's John Hirsch Prize - 1998 * Siminovitch Prize for Directing - 2004"Jillian Keiley wins Siminovitch Prize"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', October 26, 2004. *Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Direction - 2006 * Memorial University of Newfoundland Honorary Doctorate of Letters - 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keiley, Jillian Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian theatre directors Canadian women theatre directors Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian artistic directors 1970 births